Chapter 66: Making the Master Famous
A group of children in the yard watched Zhu Hao being taken away by Yuan Zonggao.
Zhu Si's face was full of guilt, he felt that he had harmed Zhu Hao. In his opinion, it was because he and his sister played Cuju. Yuan Zonggao was embarrassed to teach the two young masters of the palace a lesson, so he simply called Zhu Hao out and scolded him.
"Stop watching, and continue playing Cuju... Ah Bing, come here and hold the ball first. You can go down after Zhu Hao comes back!"
Zhu San is heartless and only cares about having fun.
the other side.
Yuan Zonggao led Zhu Hao out of the yard, but did not walk far. He stopped and looked back, looking Zhu Hao up and down.
The old fox's eyes were sharp, as if he could see through people, but Zhu Hao's psychological quality was also not to be underestimated. How could he be stage-frightened at a time like this?
"Yuan Changshi..."
Lu Song thought Yuan Zonggao might scold Zhu Hao, so he wanted to come over to explain that the children had agreed to play together, and it was not Zhu Hao who took the lead.
Yuan Zonggao raised his hand to interrupt Lu Song, but did not send Lu Song away, and did not avoid any comments when speaking.
Yuan Zonggao said, "Zhu Hao, I listened to your teaching outside the door earlier. Who taught you all that? Didn't you say that you didn't have a teacher?"
This was not the first time Yuan Zonggao had inquired about Zhu Hao's teachers.
Even Lu Song couldn't help but look over, obviously he also wanted to know more secrets about Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao said, "It is true that I don't have a teacher to teach me. Because of the obstruction of my second uncle and others, my mother couldn't find one even if she searched for a teacher to teach me in the city. As for learning to read, my mother started teaching me two years ago."
Yuan Zonggao looked surprised: "You mean, your mother taught you your knowledge?"
Zhu Hao shook his head and said, "No, mother only taught me how to read. She bought me the Four Books and Five Classics and asked me to recite them by myself. If I came across a word I didn't know, besides mother teaching me, I would also ask people around me who knew how to read."
"oh."
Yuan Zonggao nodded, still feeling that Zhu Hao had many secrets.
"Until later..."
Zhu Hao continued, "About a month ago, my mother met an old man who was still hungover in the alley behind my house. I kindly asked someone to take care of him. After he sobered up, I found out that he was from another place. He was on his way to Jiangxi, passing through Anlu. Because he was drunk and didn't know the way back to the inn, he slept on the street for a night."
When Yuan Zonggao heard this, he immediately became interested and asked, "What happened next?"
Lu Song couldn't help but glance at Yuan Zonggao from the side.
You believe such a ridiculous story?
Do you want to continue listening to that kid's nonsense?
"Mother couldn't find a teacher for me in the city, so she asked him... Mr. Lu, he said his surname was Lu, and asked him to teach me. But Mr. Lu said he couldn't stay long as he was passing through Anlu. After testing my knowledge, he agreed to be my teacher for a few days, and then he went to Jiangxi."
Zhu Hao had actually said these words when he met Prince Xing.
It’s just that Zhu Youlang and Yuan Zonggao didn’t take it seriously at the time, but this time when Zhu Hao said it out loud, the effect was very different from before.
Yuan Zonggao nodded and frowned in thought.
If Tang Yin really was passing through this place on his way to Jiangxi, it would make sense that he didn't want to reveal his true identity after getting drunk so as not to ruin his reputation.
After discovering Zhu Hao's potential in studying, it was only natural for Tang Yin to accept him as his disciple because he admired his talent.
Yuan Zonggao asked, "So what you said earlier was all taught by Mr. Lu?"
Zhu Hao nodded and said, "Yes, although Mr. Lu didn't teach me for a long time, I tried to take advantage of every opportunity to ask him questions. I don't know why I understood what he said very quickly and wrote it down. Mr. Sui didn't come to teach in the past few days. I wanted to review my lessons, but I was worried that Jing Hong and Zhu San would fall behind, so I told them what Mr. Lu taught them."
After hearing this, everything confirmed what Yuan Zonggao had thought. It was indeed Tang Yin who taught him.
Zhu Hao thought to himself, the guy who claimed to be surnamed Lu, I know that this is not your real surname, I also know that you are most likely Tang Yin, I also know that you are poor and have no future and can't bring anything to me, but I just want to find a scapegoat for my talent that is not suitable for my age and qualifications, so this is a disguised way of making you famous.
Come to think of it, you should thank me!
"What about the matter of entering the palace..." Yuan Zonggao continued to ask.
Zhu Hao said: "Mr. Lu is going to Jiangxi. I told him that if he left, my grandmother might take me back to the Zhu family and I would never have the chance to study again. He then said that I could go to the palace as a companion... As long as I can go to the palace, I believe my family will not stop me from studying, and I can grow up with the prince in the future, and maybe achieve some fame."
"Mr. Lu told me before we parted that I must be like my father, be loyal and righteous, study hard in the palace, and help the country and serve the Ming Dynasty in the future."
When Yuan Zonggao heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little admiration in his heart.
When Zhu Hao spoke those righteous words in front of Prince Xing before, he and Zhu Youluo were very moved, but also surprised why a child would have such a state of mind. Now they know that in addition to the influence of his father's heroic sacrifice on the child, there was also the child's mother's painstaking efforts to teach the child to become a useful person, as well as the words and deeds of Tang Yin, the "enlightenment mentor".
In such an environment, it is only natural to raise Zhu Hao, a man with a loyal character at a young age.
"Okay, Zhu Hao."
Yuan Zonggao knew the answer he had been looking for, nodded with approval, and said, "You can go back and play with them first. Don't let Mr. Lu down. Study hard in the palace and assist the prince wholeheartedly in the future."
She was so excited that she even said she would study hard and assist the prince in the future.
But Yuan Zonggao had no intention of taking it back. He just looked at Zhu Hao with a scrutinizing gaze.
Zhu Hao said: "But after I go back, my family will always ask me about what I learned in the palace. What should I say?"
Yuan Zonggao smiled and said, "I'll tell you what to say later... I'm not asking you to lie, but you need to know when to say what and when not to say it. What do you think?"
"Yes." Zhu Hao nodded heavily.
"Okay, that's it." When Yuan Zonggao was about to leave, he called Lu Song and said, "Lu Dianzhang, you've worked hard today. Come with me to the inner courtyard."
…
…
Yuan Zonggao left, taking Lu Song and the two guards standing guard outside with him.
The meaning is very clear. You, Zhu Hao, have already won the trust of me, Yuan. There is no need to keep an eye on you like a thief. If you want to gain more trust, it depends on your future performance.
Zhu Hao returned to the yard.
At this time, Jing Hong had just scored a goal and was cheering with Zhu Si.
Zhu Hao was not on the court, and Zhu San, a girl, was paired with a "caddy". They were completely crushed by the opponent. The score was originally 6 to 1, but now it was 6 to 10, with the opponent scoring nine goals in a row.
Jinghong and Zhu Si actually knew each other for the first day, but because they were teammates in a game and experienced a victory after defeat, their relationship improved a lot.
"A Bing, I told you to stay behind, why did you run forward ?" Zhu San angrily scolded Lu Bing.
Lu Bing's face turned red and he looked towards the door again, but unfortunately his father was no longer there to support him.
Zhu Hao said: "I'm back."
When Zhu San saw Zhu Hao, he immediately smiled and said, "Okay, Zhu Hao is back, we're sure to win!"
"Third brother, the game is over, we won, let's not compete anymore!"
Zhu Si is not a fool either, he stopped the game in time.
You know Zhu Hao is very good. When he comes on the court, you will crush us. The purpose of my Cuju is not to make you cry for pleasure. Now that I have had enough pleasure, I don’t want to play anymore!
Zhu San was so angry that he almost jumped up: "No, the winner hasn't been decided yet."
Zhu Hao frowned and said, "Mr. Yuan just told us to study hard and not play around. Now that the break is over, let's go back to the room and continue studying, and then we can play together at noon."
"Okay!" Zhu Si was the first to agree.
Zhu San pursed his lips, not very satisfied with Zhu Hao's decision, but thinking that this might be Yuan Zonggao's intention, he stopped arguing. Several children went into the school together, and "Mr. Zhu" continued to lecture.
…
…
The palace study.
Yuan Zonggao told Zhu Youqiu exactly what he had heard from Zhu Hao.
Finally, he commented: "Tang Yin became famous in his early years. He can be called a master of both poetry and painting. I thought his talent was just so-so and many rumors in the world were exaggerated. But now it seems that not only is his talent extraordinary, but he also has a very good vision and even his control of the current situation is unmatched."
Zhu Youjun asked, "Mr. Yuan is talking about him letting Zhu Hao enter the palace?"
"Um."
Yuan Zonggao nodded and said, "Before he went to Jiangxi, he made a detour to Anlu and met with the tutor of the palace. His purpose is self-evident. With his insight, he should have thought that if the current emperor had no children..."
Some things don't need to be explained in too much detail, because you need to be careful that walls may have ears.
If this word really gets out, the court will not just send people to keep an eye on Prince Xing's Mansion as it does now. Maybe they will directly frame and accuse them of treason.
But even if Yuan Zonggao didn't explain in detail, Zhu Youqiu understood what was going on. In fact, the two had talked about this topic more than once in recent years.
Zhu Youqiu asked, "But why did he go to Jiangxi again?"
Yuan Zonggao looked thoughtful. " I didn't , but I can understand it after thinking about it carefully. He went to Nanchang, seemingly to join Prince Ning, but how could he not know that Prince Ning had ambitions of rebellion? Maybe he wanted to investigate it himself... More importantly, he had no chance to enter the palace."
One sentence hits the nail on the head.
The Prince Xing's Palace has kept a low profile in recent years. Apart from recruiting local instructors for Zhu Houcong, it has almost never interacted with the gentry and officials of Anlu.
Tang Yin himself was still a "criminal official" in the court and was not qualified to continue to take part in the imperial examination. Even if such a person with a "criminal record" recommended himself, the Prince Xing's Palace would not pay attention to him.
But now that there is a disciple like Zhu Hao who is studying with him in Prince Xing's Mansion and he shows the qualities of a famous teacher and his talented student, the situation is very different.
Zhu Youqiu directly said what Yuan Zonggao wanted to say: "If there is a chance, it would be a great choice to let him go to the palace to teach the prince."
Even Yuan Zonggao couldn't help but nod and agree with Zhu Youqiu's idea.
After seeing Zhu Hao's talent and knowledge, both of them wanted to recruit Tang Yin.
